Information Acquiring Method and Base Station

ABSTRACT

An information acquiring method and a base station. The method comprises: receiving by a target base station reception status information of a multimedia broadcast multicast service of user equipment reported by a source base station when the user equipment is handed over between cells; wherein the reception status information comprises information indicating that the user equipment is receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service, or information indicating that the user equipment finishes receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service. With the embodiments of the present invention, the source base station of the user equipment notifies the target base station of reception status information of multimedia broadcast multicast service of the user equipment when the user equipment is handed over between cells, thereby guaranteeing the continuity of the MBMS of the user equipment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International ApplicationPCT/CN2011/072988, filed on Apr. 19, 2011 and designating the U.S., theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communicationsand, in particular to an information acquiring method, for acquiringreception status information of a multimedia broadcast multicast serviceof user equipment, and a base station.

BACKGROUND ART

Currently, in order to better satisfy the demands of mobile users inexperiencing multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMSs), and tomore efficiently use limited spectral resources, the 3rd generationpartnership project (3GPP) supports transmission of MBMSs in long-termevolution (LTE) R9 by using a multicast broadcast single frequencynetwork (MBSFN). Transmission of MBMSs by using an MBSFN needs multiplebase stations participating in the transmission to use completelyidentical time-frequency resources to transmit identical data at thesame time. In comparison with a transmission mode of single-cell MBMS,the transmission mode of the MBSFN is able to more efficiently avoidinter-cell interference and bring extra diversity gains. Therefore, itcan greatly improve the service reception capabilities of receptionusers.

However, in the implementation of the present invention, the inventorsfound that following defects exist in the prior art: in the existing LTEMBMS standards, for the ease of realization and convenient deployment,user equipment receiving a MBMS does not report its MBMS receptionstatus to the base station where it is located. When the user equipmentreceiving the MBMS is moved out of a corresponding MBSFN area, as atarget base station cannot acquire MBMS reception status information ofthe user equipment, the target base station cannot offer correspondingMBMS service to the user equipment, possibly resulting in interruptionof the MBMS of the user equipment, and the continuity of the MBMS of theuser equipment being not able to be guaranteed.

It should be noted that the above description of the background art ismerely provided for clear and complete explanation of the presentinvention and for easy understanding by those skilled in the art. And itshould not be understood that the above technical solution is known tothose skilled in the art as it is described in the background art of thepresent invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide aninformation acquiring method and a base station. When user equipment ishanded over between cells, a source base station of the user equipmentnotifies a target base station of MBMS reception status information ofthe user equipment, thereby guaranteeing the continuity of the MBMS ofthe user equipment.

According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention,there is provided an information acquiring method, comprising:

receiving by a target base station reception status information of amultimedia broadcast multicast service of user equipment reported by asource base station when the user equipment is handed over betweencells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving a multimedia broadcastmulticast service, or information indicating that the user equipmentfinishes receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention,there is provided an information acquiring method, comprising:

reporting by a source base station of user equipment to a target basestation reception status information of a multimedia broadcast multicastservice of the user equipment when the user equipment is handed overbetween cells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving a multimedia broadcastmulticast service, or information indicating that the user equipmentfinishes receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service.

According to a further aspect of the embodiments of the presentinvention, there is provided a target base station, comprising:

a first information acquiring unit configured to receive receptionstatus information of a multimedia broadcast multicast service of userequipment reported by a source base station when the user equipment ishanded over between cells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving a multimedia broadcastmulticast service, or information indicating that the user equipmentfinishes receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service.

According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the presentinvention, there is provided a source base station, comprising:

an information transmitting unit configured to report to a target basestation reception status information of a multimedia broadcast multicastservice of user equipment when the user equipment is handed over betweencells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving a multimedia broadcastmulticast service, or information indicating that the user equipmentfinishes receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service.

According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the presentinvention, there is provided a computer-readable program, wherein whenthe program is executed in a target base station, the program enables acomputer to carry out the information acquiring method as describedabove in the target base station.

According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the presentinvention, there is provided a storage medium in which acomputer-readable program is stored, wherein the computer-readableprogram enables a computer to carry out the information acquiring methodas described above in a target base station.

According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the presentinvention, there is provided a computer-readable program, wherein whenthe program is executed in a source base station, the program enables acomputer to carry out the information acquiring method as describedabove in the source base station.

According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the presentinvention, there is provided a storage medium in which acomputer-readable program is stored, wherein the computer-readableprogram enables a computer to carry out the information acquiring methodas described above in a source base station.

The advantage of the embodiments of the present invention exists in: thesource service base station of the user equipment notifies the targetbase station of reception status information of a multimedia broadcastmulticast service of the user equipment when the user equipment ishanded over between cells, thereby guaranteeing the continuity of theMBMS of the user equipment.

With reference to the following description and drawings, the particularembodiments of the present invention are disclosed in detail, and theprinciple of the present invention and the manners of use are indicated.It should be understood that the scope of the embodiments of the presentinvention is not limited thereto. The embodiments of the presentinvention contain many alternations, modifications and equivalentswithin the spirits and scope of the terms of the appended claims.

Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to oneembodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one ormore other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of thefeatures of the other embodiments.

It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when usedin this specification is taken to specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps or components but does not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,components or groups thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description inconjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the information acquiring method of embodiment1 of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the information acquiring method of embodiment2 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the method for acquiring reception statusinformation by the source base station of embodiment 2 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the method for acquiring reception statusinformation by the source base station of embodiment 2 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of the target base station ofembodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of the source base station ofembodiment 4 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of the second informationacquiring unit of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of the second informationacquiring unit of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the interchange of the reception statusinformation of MBMS of the user equipment between a source base stationand a target base station of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing and other features of the embodiments of the presentinvention will become apparent with reference to the drawings and thefollowing description. These embodiments are illustrative only and arenot intended to limit the present invention. For easy understanding ofthe principle and embodiments of the present invention by those skilledin the art, the principle of the embodiments of the present inventionshall be described taking MBMS of an LTE/LTE-A system as an example.However, it should be understood that the present invention is notlimited to such a system, and it is applicable to other systems relatedto report of MBMS reception status information.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the information acquiring method of embodiment1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the method comprises:

step 101: receiving by a target base station (target eNB) receptionstatus information of a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) ofuser equipment reported by a source base station (source eNB) when theuser equipment is handed over between cells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving a MBMS information, orinformation indicating that the user equipment finishes receiving a MBMSinformation.

In this way, the target eNB obtains MBMS reception status of the userequipment through the information reported by the source eNB, therebyguaranteeing the continuity of the MBMS of the user equipment.

In this embodiment, the source eNB reports the reception statusinformation to the target eNB by using a UE-MBMS reception reportmessage; however, it is not limited to the above message, and any othermessage may be used to report the reception status information. Forexample, the reception status information may be reported via an MBMS onmessage indicating that the UE-MBMS is being received, or the receptionstatus information may be reported via an MBMS off message indicatingthat the reception of the UE-MBMS is finished.

In this embodiment, when the source eNB reports information containingindication on that the user equipment is receiving the MBMS or finishesreception of the MBMS to the target eNB, MBMS information may also bereported, the service information comprising one or more pieces offollowing information:

MBSFN area identity, MBMS identity, MBMS session identity, temporarymobile group identity (TMGI) and a carrier frequency carrying an MBMS.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the method may optionallyfurther comprise: step 102: returning by the target eNB a receptionconfirm message to the source eNB; wherein, in this embodiment, thetarget eNB may reply a confirm message to the source eNB via a UE-MBMSreception confirm message; however, it is not limited to the abovemessage, and any other message may be used for replying a confirmmessage.

It can be seen from the above embodiment that when the user equipment ishanded over between the cells, the source service eNB of the userequipment notifies the target eNB of the MBMS reception statusinformation of the user equipment, thereby guaranteeing the continuityof the MBMS of the user equipment. Furthermore, MBSFN area identity,MBMS identity, MBMS session identity, TMGI and a carrier frequencycarrying an MBMS, etc., may also be notified.

In this embodiment, after the target eNB receives the reception statusinformation reported by the source eNB, when the target eNB is capableof providing the MBMS to the user equipment, the method furthercomprises: updating by the target eNB the service information of theMBMS received by the user equipment; that is, the service informationmay comprise MBSFN area identity, MBMS identity, MBMS session identity,TMGI and a carrier frequency carrying an MBMS.

In this embodiment, when the target eNB is incapable of providing theMBMS to the user equipment, the method further comprises:

providing by the target eNB the MBMS to the user equipment through abroadcast or a unicast mode. Examples are as follows:

first, when a target cell belong to a reserved cell of the MBSFN area,the target eNB provides the MBMS through a broadcast or a unicast mode;

second, when a target cell does not belong to the MBSFN area providingthe MBMS, the target cell joins in the MBSFN area providing the MBMS,and the target eNB provides the MBMS through broadcast;

third, when a target cell does not belong to the MBSFN area providingthe MBMS, the target eNB may set up a link with the provider of theMBMS, and provide the MBMS to the user equipment through a unicast mode;and

fourth, when a target cell has no adequate resources for providing theMBMS, the target eNB may set up a link with the provider of the MBMS,and provide the MBMS to the user equipment through a unicast mode.

It can be seen from the above embodiment that when the user equipment ishanded over between the cells, the source eNB of the user equipmentnotifies the target eNB of the MBMS reception status information of theuser equipment; and after receiving the reception status information,the target eNB may provides corresponding MBMS to the user equipmentthrough a broadcast or a unicast mode, thereby guaranteeing thecontinuity of the MBMS of the user equipment.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the information acquiring method of embodiment2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the method comprises:

reporting by a source eNB of user equipment a target eNB receptionstatus information of a MBMS of the user equipment to when the userequipment is handed over between cells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving an MBMS (MBMS on), orinformation indicating that the user equipment finishes receiving anMBMS (MBMS off).

In this embodiment, besides the information containing indication onthat the user equipment is receiving the MBMS or finishes reception ofthe MBMS, the source eNB may also report MBMS service information to thetarget eNB, the service information being as described in embodiment 1,which shall not be described herein any further.

In this embodiment, the method may optionally further comprise:acquiring by the source eNB a reception confirm message returned by thetarget eNB,

wherein, in this embodiment, the source eNB may report the receptionstatus information to the target eNB by using a UE-MBMS reception reportmessage; however, it is not limited to the above message, and any othermessage may be used to report the reception status information.

In this embodiment, the method may further comprise: acquiring thereception status information by the source eNB. The method for acquiringthe reception status information by the source eNB shall be describedbelow in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the method for acquiring the reception statusinformation by the source eNB of embodiment 2. As shown in FIG. 2, themethod comprises:

step 301: reporting the reception status information by the userequipment to the source eNB, so that the source eNB acquires thereception status information;

wherein, when the user equipment is receiving a new MBMS and the userequipment has not fed back any reception status information on the MBMSbefore to any base station or the source eNB, the user equipment maytransmit the reception status information to the source eNB via an MBMSreception status report (MBMS on) message (is receiving); however, it isnot limited to such a message, and any other message may be used;wherein, if the user equipment reports the information to the source eNBonly when the user equipment has not reported an MBMS reception statusto any base station, it may be avoided that the user equipment reportsthe reception status information in each time of being handed over to anew base station;

after finishing reception of corresponding MBMS, the user equipmenttransmits an MBMS reception status report (MBMS off) message (receptionfinished) to the source eNB; however, it is not limited to such amessage, and any other message may be used;

furthermore, the above messages may comprise corresponding MBMS serviceinformation, such as MBSFN area identity, MBMS identity, MBMS sessionidentity, TMGI, and a carrier frequency carrying an MBMS, etc.;

step 302: transmitting a confirm message by the source eNB to the userequipment after the source eNB receives the reception status informationreported by the user equipment;

wherein, step 302 is optional, and an MBMS reception status confirmmessage may be used as the confirm message; however, it is not limitedto such a message, and any other message may be used.

It can be seen from above that the source eNB is enabled to obtain thereception status information of an MBMS of the user equipment throughthe report process initiated by the user equipment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the method for acquiring reception statusinformation by the source base station of embodiment 2. As shown in FIG.4, the method comprises:

step 401: transmitting by the source eNB to the user equipment a requestmessage instructing the user equipment to report the reception statusinformation of an MBMS;

wherein, the source eNB may broadcast an MBMS reception status requestmessage, indicating that the user equipment within its serving areareports the reception status information of the MBMS to the source eNB;

step 402: reporting the reception status information by the userequipment according to the request message after receiving the requestmessage broadcasted by the source eNB, so that the source eNB acquiresthe reception status information;

wherein, the user equipment may report the reception status informationvia a response message;

if the user equipment is receiving a corresponding MBMS and the userequipment has not fed back any reception status information on the MBMSbefore to any base station or the source eNB, the user equipment mayindicate its current reception status to the source eNB via an MBMSreception status response (MBMS on) message (is receiving); wherein thetime of transmission of the response message may be the time whenreception of the broadcast service is started, or the time when thehandover is prepared;

furthermore, if the user equipment finishes the reception ofcorresponding MBMS, the user equipment may inform the source eNB thatits corresponding reception of MBMS is finished by transmitting an MBMSreception status response (MBMS off) message (reception is finished),the response message being transmitted at the time of finishing thereception of the service;

the above two messages may further comprise corresponding MBMS serviceinformation, such as MBSFN area identity, MBMS session identity, MBMSsession identity, TMGI, and a carrier frequency carrying an MBMS, etc.

It can be seen from above that the source eNB is enabled to obtain thereception status information of an MBMS of the user equipment throughthe report process initiated by the base station at the network side.

It can be seen from the above embodiment that when the user equipment ishanded over between the cells, the source service eNB of the userequipment notifies the target eNB of the MBMS reception statusinformation of the user equipment; and after receiving the receptionstatus information, the target eNB may provides corresponding MBMS tothe user equipment through a broadcast or a unicast mode, therebyguaranteeing the continuity of the MBMS of the user equipment. Wherein,the source eNB may obtain the reception status information of the userequipment via the report process initiated by the network side or viathe report process initiated by the user equipment

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a source eNB anda target eNB, as described in embodiment 3 and embodiment 4 below. Asthe principles of the source eNB and the target eNB for solving problemsare similar to those of the above-described information acquiringmethods based on a source eNB and a target eNB, the implementation ofthe methods may be referred to for the implementation of the source eNBand the target eNB, and the repeated parts shall not be described anyfurther.

Embodiment 3

FIG. 5 is a functional structural schematic diagram of the target eNB ofembodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the targeteNB comprises a first information acquiring unit 501; wherein the firstinformation acquiring unit 501 is configured to receive reception statusinformation of an MBMS of user equipment reported by a source basestation when the user equipment is handed over between cells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving an MBMS (MBMS on), orinformation indicating that the user equipment finishes receiving anMBMS (MBMS off).

It can be seen from the above embodiment that when the user equipment ishanded over between the cells, the source eNB of the user equipmentnotifies the target eNB of the MBMS reception status information of theuser equipment, thereby guaranteeing the continuity of the MBMS of theuser equipment.

In this embodiment, the source eNB may further report the serviceinformation to the target eNB. In this way, the first informationacquiring unit 501 may further acquire the service information, theservice information being as described in embodiment 1, which shall notbe described any further.

As shown in FIG. 5, the target eNB may further comprise a firsttransmitting unit 502 configured to return a reception confirm messageto the source eNB after receiving the reception status information.

In the above embodiment, the message used by the source eNB intransmitting the reception status information and the message used intransmitting the reception confirm message are as described inembodiment 1 and embodiment 2, which shall not be described any further.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the target eNB may furthercomprise an information updating unit 503 configured to update theservice information of the MBMS received by the user equipment when thetarget base station is capable of providing to the user equipment theMBMS. Wherein, the service information is as described in embodiment 1,which shall not be described any further.

As shown in FIG. 5, the target base station further comprises a serviceproviding unit 504 configured to provide to the user equipment the MBMSthrough a broadcast or a unicast mode after the target base stationacquires the reception status information and when the target basestation is incapable of providing to the user equipment the MBMS.Wherein, using a broadcast or a unicast mode by the service providingunit 504 to provide MBMS is as described in embodiment 1, which shallnot be described any further.

It can be seen from the above embodiment that when the user equipment ishanded over between the cells, the source service eNB of the userequipment notifies the target eNB of the MBMS reception statusinformation of the user equipment, thereby guaranteeing the continuityof the MBMS of the user equipment; furthermore, after receiving the MBMSreception status information of the user equipment, the target eNBperforms corresponding operations according to whether it is capable ofproviding to the user equipment the MBMS, so as to provide correspondingMBMS to the user equipment.

Embodiment 4

FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of the source eNB of embodiment4 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the source eNB comprisesan information transmitting unit 601 configured to report receptionstatus information of an MBMS of user equipment to a target eNB when theuser equipment is handed over between cells;

wherein the reception status information comprises informationindicating that the user equipment is receiving an MBMS, or informationindicating that the user equipment finishes receiving an MBMS.

It can be seen from the above embodiment that when the user equipment ishanded over between the cells, the source eNB of the user equipmentnotifies the target eNB of the MBMS reception status information of theuser equipment, thereby guaranteeing the continuity of the MBMS of theuser equipment.

In this embodiment, the source eNB may further report MBMS serviceinformation in reporting to the target eNB information indicating thatthe user equipment is receiving or finishes the reception of the MBMS,the service information being as described in embodiment 1, which shallnot be described any further.

Before the source eNB reports the reception status information to thetarget eNB, the source eNB may obtain the reception status informationvia a report process initiated by the network side or via a reportprocess initiated by the user equipment. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6,the source eNB may further comprise a second information acquiring unit602 configured to acquire the reception status information.

In obtaining the reception status information via a report processinitiated by the user equipment, as shown in FIG. 7, the secondinformation acquiring unit 602 may comprise a first informationreceiving unit 701; wherein, the first information receiving unit 701 isconfigured to receive the reception status information reported by theuser equipment, so as to acquire the reception status information.

In such a case, the source eNB may further comprise a confirm messagetransmitting unit 702 configured to return a reception confirm messageto the user equipment after receiving the reception status informationtransmitted by the user equipment. Detailed process is as described inembodiment 2, which shall not be described herein any further. Wherein,the confirm message transmitting unit 702 is optional.

In obtaining the reception status information via a report processinitiated by the network side, as shown in FIG. 8, the secondinformation acquiring unit 602 comprises a request message transmittingunit 801 and an information receiving unit 802; wherein,

the request message transmitting unit 801 is configured to transmit arequest message to the user equipment instructing the user equipment toreport the reception status information; and the information receivingunit 802 is configured to receive the reception status informationreported by the user equipment according to the request messagetransmitted by the request message transmitting unit 801, so as toacquire the reception status information.

It can be seen from the above embodiment that when the user equipment ishanded over between the cells, the source eNB of the user equipmentnotifies the target eNB of the MBMS reception status information of theuser equipment, thereby guaranteeing the continuity of the MBMS of theuser equipment; wherein, the source eNB may obtain the reception statusinformation of the user equipment via a report process initiated by thenetwork side or via a report process initiated by the user equipment.

Following description is given to a process of the interchange of thereception status information of MBMS of the user equipment between asource base station and a target base station with reference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the interchange of the reception statusinformation of MBMS of the user equipment between a source base stationand a target base station of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9,following steps are employed:

step 901: acquiring by the source eNB the reception status informationof MBMS of the user equipment;

wherein, the information may be acquired by using the methods asdescribed in FIGS. 3 and 4 of embodiment 2, which shall not be describedherein any further;

step 902: transmitting reception status information of moving userequipment by the source eNB to the target eNB when the user equipment ishanded over between cells;

wherein, the reception status information may be carried by a UE-MBMSreception report message; besides the information indicating that theuser equipment is receiving or finishes the reception of the MBMS, thereception status information may further comprise MBMS serviceinformation, which are as described in above embodiments, and shall notbe described herein any further;

step 903: returning a confirm message by the target eNB to the sourceeNB after the target eNB receives the reception status information;

wherein, the confirm message may be returned to the source eNB via aUE-MBMS reception confirm message, and this step is optional;

step 904: updating service information of the user equipment forreceiving the MBMS by the target eNB after the target eNB receives thereport and when the target eNB is capable of providing correspondingMBMS to the user equipment;

step 905: providing the MBMS by the target eNB through a unicast mode ora broadcast mode after the target eNB receives the report and when thetarget eNB is incapable of providing corresponding MBMS to the userequipment.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides acomputer-readable program, wherein when the program is executed in atarget eNB, the program enables a computer to carry out the informationacquiring method as described in embodiment 1 in the target eNB.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage mediumin which a computer-readable program is stored, wherein thecomputer-readable program enables a computer to carry out theinformation acquiring method as described in embodiment 1 in a targeteNB.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides acomputer-readable program, wherein when the program is executed in asource eNB, the program enables a computer to carry out the informationacquiring method as described in embodiment 2 in the source eNB.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage mediumin which a computer-readable program is stored, wherein thecomputer-readable program enables a computer to carry out theinformation acquiring method as described in embodiment 2 in a sourceeNB.

The above apparatuses and methods of the present invention may beimplemented by hardware, or by hardware in combination with software.The present invention relates to such a computer-readable program thatwhen the program is executed by a logic device, the logic device isenabled to carry out the apparatus or components as described above, orto carry out the methods or steps as described above. The presentinvention also relates to a storage medium for storing the aboveprogram, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD, a DVD, and a flashmemory, etc.

The present invention is described above with reference to particularembodiments. However, it should be understood by those skilled in theart that such a description is illustrative only, and not intended tolimit the protection scope of the present invention. Various variantsand modifications may be made by those skilled in the art according tothe spirits and principle of the present invention, and such variantsand modifications fall within the scope of the present invention.

1. An information acquiring method, comprising: receiving by a targetbase station reception status information of a multimedia broadcastmulticast service of user equipment reported by a source base stationwhen the user equipment is handed over between cells; wherein thereception status information comprises information indicating that theuser equipment is receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service, orinformation indicating that the user equipment finishes receiving amultimedia broadcast multicast service.
 2. The method according to claim1, wherein the reception status information further comprises serviceinformation of the multimedia broadcast multicast services the serviceinformation comprising one or more pieces of the following information:multicast broadcast single frequency network area ID, multimediabroadcast multicast service ID, multimedia broadcast multicast servicesession ID, temporary mobile group identity, and the carrier frequencycarrying the multimedia broadcast multicast service.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises returning bythe target base station a reception confirm message to the source basestation.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the targetbase station is capable of providing the multimedia broadcast multicastservice to the user equipment, the method further comprises: updating bythe target base station the service information of the multimediabroadcast multicast service received by the user equipment.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein when the target base station isincapable of providing the multimedia broadcast multicast service to theuser equipment, the method further comprises: providing by the targetbase station the multimedia broadcast multicast service to the userequipment through a broadcast or a unicast mode.
 6. The method accordingto claim 5, wherein the target base station provides the multimediabroadcast multicast service through a broadcast or a unicast mode when atarget cell belongs to a reserved cell of a multicast broadcast singlefrequency network area; when a target cell does not belong to themulticast broadcast single frequency network area providing themultimedia broadcast multicast service, the target cell joins in themulticast broadcast single frequency network area providing themultimedia broadcast multicast service, and the target base stationprovides the multimedia broadcast multicast service through broadcast;when a target cell does not belong to the multicast broadcast singlefrequency network area providing the multimedia broadcast multicastservice, the target base station provides the multimedia broadcastmulticast service through a unicast mode; and when a target cell has noadequate resources for providing the multimedia broadcast multicastservice, the target base station provides the multimedia broadcastmulticast service through a unicast mode.
 7. An information acquiringmethod, comprising: reporting by a source base station of user equipmentto a target base station reception status information of a multimediabroadcast multicast service of the user equipment when the userequipment is handed over between cells; wherein the reception statusinformation comprises information indicating that the user equipment isreceiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service, or informationindicating that the user equipment finishes receiving a multimediabroadcast multicast service.
 8. The method according to claim 7, whereinthe reception status information further comprises service informationof the multimedia broadcast multicast service, the service informationcomprising one or more pieces of the following information: multicastbroadcast single frequency network area ID, multimedia broadcastmulticast service ID, multimedia broadcast multicast service session ID,temporary mobile group identity, and the carrier frequency carrying themultimedia broadcast multicast service.
 9. The method according to claim7, wherein the method further comprises acquiring by the source basestation the reception status information.
 10. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the step of acquiring by the source base station thereception status information comprises: receiving by the source basestation the reception status information reported by the user equipment,so as to acquire the reception status information.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the step of acquiring by the source basestation the reception status information comprises: transmitting by thesource base station to the user equipment a request message indicatingthat the user equipment reports the reception status information; andreceiving by the source base station the reception status informationreported by the user equipment in response to the request message, so asto acquire the reception status information.
 12. A target base station,comprising: a first information acquiring unit configured to receivereception status information of a multimedia broadcast multicast serviceof user equipment reported by a source base station when the userequipment is handed over between cells; wherein the reception statusinformation comprises information indicating that the user equipment isreceiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service, or informationindicating that the user equipment finishes receiving a multimediabroadcast multicast service.
 13. The target base station according toclaim 12, wherein the target base station further comprises a firsttransmitting unit configured to return a reception confirm message tothe source base station after receiving the reception statusinformation.
 14. The target base station according to claim 12, whereinthe target base station further comprises an information updating unitconfigured to update the service information of the multimedia broadcastmulticast service received by the user equipment when the target basestation is capable of providing to the user equipment the multimediabroadcast multicast service.
 15. The target base station according toclaim 12, wherein the target base station further comprises a serviceproviding unit configured to provide to the user equipment themultimedia broadcast multicast service through a broadcast or a unicastmode when the target base station is incapable of providing to the userequipment the multimedia broadcast multicast service.
 16. A source basestation, comprising: an information transmitting unit configured toreport to a target base station reception status information of amultimedia broadcast multicast service of user equipment when the userequipment is handed over between cells; wherein the reception statusinformation comprises information indicating that the user equipment isreceiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service, or informationindicating that the user equipment finishes receiving a multimediabroadcast multicast service.
 17. The source base station according toclaim 16, wherein the source base station further comprises a secondinformation acquiring unit configured to acquire the reception statusinformation.
 18. The source base station according to claim 17, whereinthe second information acquiring unit is used to receive the receptionstatus information reported by the user equipment, so as to acquire thereception status information.
 19. The source base station according toclaim 17, wherein the second information acquiring unit comprises: arequest message transmitting unit configured to transmit a requestmessage to the user equipment indicating that the user equipment reportsthe reception status information; an information receiving unitconfigured to receive the reception status information reported by theuser equipment in response to the request message transmitted by therequest message transmitting unit, so as to acquire the reception statusinformation.
 20. A communication system, comprising user equipment,wherein the communication system further comprises a source base stationof the user equipment and a target base station; the source base stationconfigured to report to a target base station reception statusinformation of a multimedia broadcast multicast service of the userequipment when the user equipment is handed over between cells; thetarget base station configured to receive the reception statusinformation of a multimedia broadcast multicast service of userequipment reported by the source base station; wherein the receptionstatus information comprises information indicating that the userequipment is receiving a multimedia broadcast multicast service, orinformation indicating that the user equipment finishes receiving amultimedia broadcast multicast service.
 21. The system according toclaim 20, wherein the reception status information further comprisesservice information of the multimedia broadcast multicast services theservice information comprising one or more pieces of the followinginformation: multicast broadcast single frequency network area ID,multimedia broadcast multicast service ID, multimedia broadcastmulticast service session ID, temporary mobile group identity, and thecarrier frequency carrying the multimedia broadcast multicast service.22. The system according to claim 20, wherein the source base stationconfigured to acquire the reception status information.
 23. The systemaccording to claim 22, wherein the source base station configured toreceive the reception status information reported by the user equipment,so as to acquire the reception status information.